When El walked out of the Hard-Shell Tower with Shirahoshi, he encountered Nami and the other girls touring Ryugu Palace with King Neptune. The next second, after recovering from the shock of seeing his daughter outside the tower, King Neptune hurriedly rushed over and hugged her, crying with joy. "Shirahoshi!!!"
"Your Excellency, thank you very much!" Looking at El, who was holding Vander Decken IX's body in his hands, Jinbe bowed gratefully.
"It's fine. I did this for Shirahoshi," El replied with a light smile.
Hearing this, a smile appeared on Jinbe's face. Although King Neptune had been subjected to El's coercion and inducement, in the end, El had performed the role of a hero saving a damsel in distress to earn Shirahoshi's trust and affection.
Though El's initial approach had been very domineering, he was genuinely good to his companions. Just as El himself had said: once someone became his companion, he would regard them as family and give them his best. Wasn't this the same as Whitebeard?
Give the best to your sons, protect those under your pirate flag so they would never be oppressed by anyone in the world—while giving the worst to your enemies.
After El and the others left, King Neptune and Jinbe both let go of any resentment and decided to let Shirahoshi follow El with their blessing.
Especially since Shirahoshi, with her special ability, had decided to follow El with a smile on her face. This confirmed their guess: El didn't want to use Shirahoshi's power to dominate the world, but sincerely regarded her as a companion and family.
Seeing King Neptune and Jinbe's thoughts, El gave a helpless smile inwardly. He hadn't expected that even with his domineering approach, he would still be seen as a good guy. He could only hope they wouldn't speak well of him in front of Whitebeard. Otherwise, the life-or-death battle he anticipated might never happen.
—
To thank El for enabling Shirahoshi to finally leave the Hard-Shell Tower after three years of imprisonment and reuniting them, King Neptune decided to host a banquet for El and his group.
During the banquet, King Neptune did not mention El's coercion and inducement to his four children. On the contrary, he let Shirahoshi tell him and her three brothers about her dream of going on an adventure to the outside world. After looking at Shirahoshi's worried expression for a while, King Neptune showed a kind smile and agreed to her dream.
At this, Shirahoshi cheered while her three brothers looked at their father with somewhat surprised expressions.
Shirahoshi was only nine years old this year, and their father was allowing her to go to the outside world. Was it because the person Shirahoshi wanted to follow was one of the four strongest pirate crews on the seas, so he felt reassured? Or was their father trying to take this opportunity to form a connection with them?
No—given how much their father loved Shirahoshi, and with the strongest pirate crew in the world as their backing, it was impossible for him to send Shirahoshi away just to form a connection with the new Pirate Emperor.
Thinking this, the three brothers wanted to ask their father. However, given the occasion, they refrained.
After the banquet concluded, El directly used his Devil Fruit ability to bring the Pegasus above Ryugu Palace, and they all stayed overnight there.
—
At noon the next day, El and the others chatted with King Neptune and the three brothers until evening, while Shirahoshi—who had officially joined—boarded the Pegasus and selected her room.
To facilitate Shirahoshi's entrance and exit, El deliberately used his Devil Fruit ability to modify the doors and ceiling, allowing her to move freely.
Just as Shirahoshi was choosing her room, El guided the Pegasus to fly away from Ryugu Palace and head toward the Sea Forest—also known as the Ship Graveyard—located northeast of Fishman Island.
True to its alias, the area was filled with shipwrecks, sunken vessels dragged there by ocean currents. At the same time, abundant coral grew there due to the light emitted by the Sunlight Tree Eve. It was also populated by all kinds of sea fauna, including schools of fish and pods of whales.
Because of the beautiful corals surrounded by playful fish and the numerous shipwrecks, this place was stunning by day and eerily creepy at night.
The Pegasus stopped above the Sea Forest and began slowly descending toward the ground. Shirahoshi, standing on the balcony of the top cabin, gripped the railing with both hands and gazed excitedly at the scenery below.
After the Pegasus landed, Shirahoshi was the first down the gangplank. Finding an open space, she pressed her hands together to fulfill her wish of paying respects to her deceased mother.
"Sister Robin, I'll take you to a good place." At this moment, El, walking behind, suddenly spoke and grabbed Robin, who was holding Tama. Without waiting for her response, El lifted her in a princess carry and quietly left the group. After a while, El landed before a square stone tablet with Robin and Tama in his arms.
Looking at the stone tablet engraved with ancient characters, Robin couldn't help but shout in surprise: "A Poneglyph!"
"I discovered this by accident while in Asura form with Carina and Violet." El took Tama from Robin's arms and said with a smile: "I finally found another Poneglyph. Sister Robin, please interpret it here while I take Tama to play elsewhere."
"Alright. Don't take Tama to any dangerous places." Robin nodded and said a few words before truly ignoring El and Tama's existence.
Walking before the Poneglyph, Robin reached out and touched the ancient texts with hundreds of years of history, beginning to decipher its meaning.
◇ BONUS & SUPPORT ◇
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 10 reviews — drop a comment!
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 70 chapters ahead on P@treon → patreon.com/Sagamaster789